I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 5: Eremurus

Naruto followed Mikoto, Mebuki, and Sakura as they walked around the market. The guards hung back a little, watching their Queen, Duchess, and future Crown Princess. Naruto knew that they didn't really care about him. Some probably wanted him to have an accident of some sorts. It seemed that Sakura wasn't the only one that thought Naruto was in the way of her happiness. Naruto recognized one of the guards as the man that had dragged him up the stairs. The look the man gave Naruto caused him to shiver. Ino had thought Naruto was cold and gave him a shawl. He thanked her, before putting more distance between himself and that man. Mikoto had felt bad that Naruto was cold, but Naruto told her that he was fine. This was, however, enough to gain her attention, a fact both Mebuki and Sakura did not like.

"This would look wonderful on you," Mikoto said, holding up a hair stick. It had a blue nemophila flower on it along with white and blue beads at the end of a white string.

"Th-thank you," Naruto said, as he accepted the gift from Mikoto. He handed it to Ino who instantly swapped it with the red one he'd been wearing.

Not wanting Naruto to have all of the attention, Mebuki grabbed another hair stick with pink cherry blossoms on it. The string was a dark pink with white and pink beads at the end. "I think this would look wonderful on you Sakura, don't you think so, Queen Mikoto?"

"Hm… it might be too much pink though," Mikoto said. She motioned to a pale green one that had a green marble at the end with a tassel hanging from it. "That one would be a better fit." Sakura and Mebuki looked at the hair stick in displeasure, but they let Mikoto buy it for Sakura.

"Ah!" Sakura said. She saw a hair comb with a purple rose and showed it to Mikoto. "Queen Mikoto, this is perfect for you." Mebuki instantly bought it so Sakura could give it to Mikoto. Mikoto smiled and handed the comb to her servant, claiming she'd wear it later.

A few things caught Naruto's eyes and he chose to buy them as gifts. There was however, one person Naruto was hesitant about buying a gift for. He was sure that if he got anything for Sasuke, the man would just scoff at it. He had already picked our brooches for Fugaku and Itachi, so getting one for Sasuke was a safe decision. A pair of moon shaped cufflinks caught his eyes. He stared at them for a couple seconds before giving in and buying them. He handed Ino the wrapped gift for safekeeping, adding it to her collection. Naruto and Ino noticed that the others had gone on ahead, so they picked up the pace, not noticing the eyes that followed after them.

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"We need to talk," Itachi had said and now Sasuke and Itachi were in Itachi's chambers. Neither had said anything as they waited for the tea. A maid dropped it off, blushing when she saw Sasuke. She then saw Itachi and bowed before quickly leaving the room. Itachi raised an eyebrow at that. He chose to ignore it for the time being as he had more pressing matters. "You need to treat Naruto better," the Beta said.

Sasuke's hand halted as it reached for his teacup. "Why are you concerned about that?"

"Because I've seen the way you look at each other," Itachi said. "I may only be a Beta, but I'm not foreign to Alphan desires." Sasuke blushed at that. "Also, Naruto seems to be afraid of you. I don't know what you've done to earn such a response, but it has to stop. He's to be your concubine and it wouldn't be good if he was to remain scared of you."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "I don't know. We hadn't seen each other since we were little, except at a few balls. But I never approached him in any way, not until we arrived in this Duchy."

"Mother said he had fainted a few weeks before we left the capital," Itachi said. Sasuke looked up at that, surprised to only hear that now. "I guess you weren't listening when she told us about it. Father wanted to leave Naruto behind, but when Naruto said that he was feeling better, Mother persuaded him to allow Naruto to come with us. Sakura wasn't happy about this decision, but she accepted it since she knew that she was to be your wife first. No one else may have noticed it, but Sakura clearly doesn't like Naruto. Naruto also seems to be afraid of her. But he's more afraid of you."

"I didn't see or hear about any of that," Sasuke said. "And I haven't really done anything to warrant Naruto's fear." His mind went back to last night. "I… I did do something I shouldn't have though." He fell silent until Itachi motioned for him to continue. "I saw him coming out of your room last night. And I questioned him about what happened between you too."

Itachi's eyes widened. "You questioned his purity?" Sasuke nodded. Itachi sighed. "Do you really think I'd do anything to Naruto when he's your fiance?"

"No. But he's an Omega…"

"It doesn't matter. Naruto and I are just friends."

"Then why did you call him beautiful?"

Itachi paused at that. He then chuckled as he took a sip of his tea. "You're jealous."

"What?"

"You're jealous. You think I'm stealing Naruto away from you. Sasuke, we aren't children anymore and Naruto isn't your toy. And yes, Naruto is beautiful; you'd have to be blind not to see that." He took another sip of his tea. "I do like Naruto, but as I said before, we are only friends." Sasuke nodded, still not sure how he felt about that. "As for what Naruto and I talked about, we talked about the carriage incident. We shared our concerns about what it means for the Kingdom and the Harunos."

"You talked about that at breakfast."

"What I said was the truth. If the Harunos gave us a broken carriage on purpose…"

"Do you think it was on purpose?"

"I'm not really sure. But I know that it would benefit them if Naruto and I were dead."

"But Father and Mother would have been killed."

"Collateral damage." Sasuke clenched his fists. "But like I said, I'm not sure."

"We need to find out the truth."

Itachi grinned. "That's why I asked for a copy of the report. If they fake it or change it in any way, I'll know."

Sasuke nodded. He took a sip of his tea, ignoring how it had gone cold. "I don't like Sakura."

"I know. Mother and I don't like her either. I'm not sure how Father really feels."

"I have to marry her."

"Yes."

Sasuke groaned. "Why couldn't you have been born an Alpha?"

'Sometimes I ask myself that too,' Itachi thought. "Even if I had been born an Alpha, you'd still be the Crown Prince."

"You've never told me why you didn't want to become King."

"I have my reasons." Sasuke dropped the subject. He glanced at the clock, something Itachi saw. "You have sword lessons soon. You should go."

Sasuke sighed, put his cup down, and then left the room. He found Kakashi a few minutes later and they began his lesson.

Itachi walked over to the window and smiled as he saw Kakashi knock Sasuke's sword out of his hand. He then coughed into his hand. He lowered it to reveal some blood. 'I wonder how much longer I can endure this.'

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Naruto and the others sat down for lunch. Ino and the other servants sat at a nearby table while the guards sat around them. Naruto felt bad for the server since the poor girl was clearly nervous. Ino must have seen it as well as she decided to step in and help. The girl thanked her as they worked together to hand out the food.

"So Sasuke said he'd escort me to the Ball," Sakura said.

"As he should," Mebuki said. "I bet the others can't wait to see their future King and Queen together."

Sakura smiled. Then she turned towards Naruto. "Who will be escorting you?"

"I… I'm not sure," Naruto said.

"Itachi would be willing to escort you," Mikoto said.

"I'm sure he would be," Sakura said under her breath.

"What?" Mikoto asked.

"Nothing," Sakura smiled again. 'It seems even Queen Mikoto approves of Prince Itachi and Naruto's relationship. Then only the King is in the way.' "Prince Itachi seems to be very fond of you, Lord Naruto."

"We are friends," Naruto said, not sure where Sakura was going with this.

"Still, I think you two make a better match than you and Sasuke," Sakura said. Naruto instantly caught onto what she meant. It was true that if Naruto and Itachi were to get married instead, they would no longer be in Sakura's way.

"Naruto is Sasuke's future Concubine," Mikoto said.

"But wouldn't it be better if all of us were happy with our marriage?" Sakura asked, feigning to care about someone other than herself. "Prince Itachi and Lord Naruto would be happy together. Sasuke and I are already a perfect match. And they are too."

"The only one Naruto is going to marry is Sasuke," Mikoto said. Sakura looked ready to protest, but Mebuki gave her daughter a look that stopped her. Naruto glanced at Mikoto. He wondered why she was so adamant about him marrying Sasuke. He knew that Fugaku wasn't happy about his future marriage to Sasuke. If they really wanted to just uphold the agreement, they could have given Naruto to Itachi instead. After all, the only thing the agreement said was that Naruto would marry an Uchiha Prince.

The conversation shifted back to the Ball. Sakura informed them that she was hoping to pick her Ladies-in-waiting from the guests. She was adamant of picking at least four. At the mention of Ladies-in-waiting, Naruto began to remember just who Sakura chose. The memory disappeared quickly when Mikoto called his name.

"Are you alright?" Mikoto asked.

"Yes," Naruto lied. "I'm just a little tired. I think it would be best if I go back."

"Then I'll come with you," Mikoto said.

"No, it's alright," Naruto said. "You should have some more fun. It isn't often that you get to leave the castle."

"Are you sure?" Mikoto asked.

"Yes," Naruto said.

"Alright," Mikoto said. "At least take a couple guards with you, along with a carriage.." At her words, two men stepped forward. Naruto gave his goodbyes before leaving. Ino walked at his side while the two men followed behind them. Ino helped Naruto into the carriage before climbing in after him. The guards sat next to the driver. It didn't take long for the carriage to arrive at the Haruno residence. One of the guards offered Ino his hand. She took it. Once she was out of the carriage, she turned to see the same guard helping Naruto out. Naruto noticed that this guard had kind eyes. He guessed he was one of Mikoto's. The other guard didn't look happy, making it clear that he served the Harunos. Naruto chose to ignore him. The guards only left after Naruto and Ino entered the mansion.

Naruto made it to his room before he asked to be left alone. Ino was concerned, but she obeyed him, promising to come back a few hours later to help him get ready for dinner. Naruto laid down on the bed, only removing some jewelry. He then buried himself under the covers, wrapping his arms around his stomach. He managed to keep his voice down as he let himself cry, sleep dragging forth a few memories that would have been better off forgotten.

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Naruto thought he could trust his cousin since they were family. But he'd been wrong. Karin had gotten a spot as one of Sakura's Ladies-in-waiting. She had used her connection to Naruto as a way to get close to Sakura in hopes that she'd one day marry above her station. Karin served Sakura well, but the others didn't accept her. Since she was the lowest ranked Lady, the other three picked on her. She was forced to do double the workload. Her clothes were ruined on a weekly basis. Seeing this, Naruto confronted Sakura about how Karin was being treated. Sakura agreed to scold the other Ladies, but the bullying only got worse. And Karin chose to take it out on Naruto.

One day, one of the other Ladies saw Karin yelling at Naruto and had gone to Sakura to tell her what she had seen. Sakura was greatly pleased, and it made the other Ladies jealous as now Karin had her protection. The other Ladies joined Karin in insulting Naruto whenever they had the chance. They always made sure to not do it infront of Sakura or Sasuke.

The verbal abuse soon turned physical. It did not matter to them that Naruto was the Concubine to the King. They saw him as a useless being that was beneath them. Ino caught them at it and she protected Naruto, only to get hurt in his place. She threatened to go to Sasuke and that was enough for them to leave them alone for a while. Naruto didn't let Ino inform Sasuke of the situation, not wanting to burden him. In all honesty, it shouldn't have been a burden. It was Sasuke's job to make sure nothing bad was happening in his Kingdom. It was Sakura's to make sure things in the palace run smoothly. Ino argued against Naruto's choice, but Naruto begged her to remain silent. Instead, Naruto requested that he be moved to a different palace. Sakura approved it, believing that her plan to ostracize the blond was finally working. Naruto took only Ino and a young maid named Hana with him to his new palace. The people there accepted their new occupant, mostly because Naruto stayed quiet. Ino took over control of Naruto's meals while Hana did most of the cleaning. It wasn't much since Naruto would spend the entire day wearing only one outfit. The clothes were easy to wash as he only owned one fancy dress. His other formal wear had been sold after his marriage at Sakura's orders in order to pay for her more extravagant lifestyle. His more expensive jewelry was sold next. Sakura claimed it was to help the poor. Ino had questioned why Sakura hadn't given anything up if it was really for charity. Naruto on the other hand didn't want to stir anything up and just handed his things to Sakura. The only things he kept was the necklace from his parents, and jewelry that wouldn't sell for a lot.

When Sakura tried to take his necklace a month later, Naruto refused. It caused an argument that even got the attention of Sasuke's men. One had even ran to get Sasuke out of fear that the fight would get bloody. When Sasuke arrived, Sakura cried about how Naruto was being selfish and not helping the poor. Sasuke asked Naruto to explain himself. Karin stepped forward and said that Naruto had stolen one of Sakura's necklaces. Hana argued against Karin, saying that the necklace was always Naruto's. When Sasuke asked for Naruto to hand over the necklace, Naruto refused. People around them looked surprised at that.

"Insolence!" Sakura yelled. She had her guards grab Naruto. She grabbed Naruto's necklace and yanked it until the chain broke.

"No!" Naruto yelled. "Give it back!" Tears instantly came to his eyes.

"Are you seriously crying over a necklace?" Sakura asked.

"It was my mother's!" Naruto yelled.

"Sakura," Sasuke said. He held out a hand and Sakura instantly placed the necklace in it. He inspected the necklace before turning towards Karin. "Are you sure you saw Naruto steal this?"

"I-it could have been a different one," Karin tried.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He motioned for Sakura's men to release Naruto before he bowed slightly and tried to put the necklace back on Naruto, but the clasp was broken. He frowned. "Kakashi."

"Yes, your Majesty?" Kakashi asked.

"Take this and have it fixed," Sasuke said. "Make sure it is returned to Naruto."

"Right away," Kakashi said. Sasuke gave Naruto one last look before he and his men left. Sakura and her people also left, none of them happy. Naruto later found out that Karin had been punished for the incident. He received several letters from his Aunt and Uncle complaining about what happened to Karin. It turned out that Karin had been sent home after being whipped as her punishment. Naruto thought about confronting Sakura about it, but instead, he finally sent a letter to Sasuke. He handed the letter directly to Kakashi after the man returned his now fixed necklace to him. Naruto put the necklace on right away. Kakashi promised to hand the letter to Sasuke. Upon arriving at Sasuke's office, he did just that. But Sasuke pushed it aside, claiming he'd look at it later. The letter ended up being lost in a pile of documents, long forgotten. Naruto tried again, but it was once more lost. Finally, Naruto requested that Sasuke come to him so they could talk, however, his request fell on deaf ears. Sasuke ignored Naruto. Naruto gave up, explaining to his Aunt and Uncle that there was nothing he could do as it had been the Queen's decision. They sent more angry letters back. Eventually, Naruto chose to ignore them, throwing them into the fire.

Naruto didn't know that Karin had started to put poison on the letters. When Naruto burnt them, the poison spread into the air. Karin managed to time it so that when she returned to the palace, Naruto had fallen unconscious. She dragged Naruto into a different room, where she whipped Naruto. Sakura and her other Ladies found the two of them. Naruto begged Sakura to help him, but she grabbed the whip and gave Naruto a few lashings of her own. Each of her Ladies took turns until Hana ran into the room, begging them to stop. Hana was given a few lashes in Naruto's place before Sakura allowed the two of them to leave. Hana looked after Naruto before she left to return home. She ended up not coming back, leaving Ino as the only person Naruto thought he could trust. After he healed, he began to write down everything that Sakura and her people had done to him. He wasn't planning on letting anyone else see it though. Unbeknownst to Naruto, Ino had given the diary to Sakura.

Eremurus (Foxtail Lily) is a symbol of endurance.